Governor Neil Abercrombie’s newly appointed communications director said he didn’t read a chain email falsely attacking President Obama for planning to honor a controversial Vietnam War-era critic of U.S. policy before forwarding the email to a group of friends. Intended recipients included a conservative talk show host and the campaign manager of Linda Lingle’s Senate bid.

Contacted this morning at the Governor’s Office, Jim Boersema said he received the email “from three different people” and immediately forwarded it to several others who share his military background and interest in Vietnam.

“I didn’t even read it,” Boersema said. “I was in the Army for 37 years. I saw it was about Vietnam, and I just forwarded it to some friends.”

Boersema acknowledges it was a mistake.

“I shouldn’t have sent it,” he said.

The email, an updated version of a conservative message that has been circulating on the internet for more than a decade, said Obama is planning to honor the controversial actress Jane Fonda as a “Woman of the Century.”

Fonda became a symbol of anti-war activism in the early 1970s, a reputation which was cemented by her highly-publicized visit to Hanoi, capital of North Vietnam, in 1972, while U.S. involvement in the war continued. The email savagely attacks her as a traitor and urges those receiving the email to forward it to others “so that everyone will know a traitor is about to be honored” by the president.

But it isn’t true, according to several different fact-checking sites that examined the email claims. It turns out the “honor” it refers to was Fonda’s inclusion in an ABC News profile of 100 “great women” of the 20th century broadcast in 1999, almost a decade before Obama’s election.

Among those meant to receive Boersema’s email, sent from his private email address, were MidWeek columnists Rick Hamada and Bob Jones, and former State Adjutant General Bob Lee, recently named manager of Republican Linda Lingle’s Senate campaign. Hamada is also a popular conservative talk show host. Lee may not have received the email due to a mistyped letter in his email address.

From FactCheck.org:

It is simply false that the president is planning to honor Jane Fonda as one of the “100 women of the century,” as this chain e-mail claims.

Fonda was one of many women featured in a Barbara Walters special for ABC News called “A Celebration: 100 Years of Great Women,” which looked at the “most inspiring, intriguing and entertaining” women of the 20th century. It was actually based on a list of the “100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century” selected by a panel for Ladies’ Home Journal.

The program hosted by Walters aired on April 30, 1999, nearly 10 years prior to Obama becoming president. Versions of this e-mail — without references to Obama, of course — began circulating soon after Walters’ special aired.

In addition, several incidents described in the email have been repeatedly denied by those involved, the fact checking sites report.

“How Barack Obama got dragged into this is a mystery,” comments Snopes.com, the website that debunks rumors and urban legends. But this email campaign is reminiscent of the false “swift boat” political smears that targeted Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004.

Boersema’s forwarded email encouraged recipients to keep spreading the story by forwarding the rambling allegations linking President Obama to Fonda’s actions. It adds to the political problems of the president and the Democratic Party, and embarrasses Gov. Abercrombie, who was a personal friend of the president’s parents and an early supporter of his candidacy.

“For the record, I like President Obama,” Boersema said this morning. “I do like him.”

Although Jane Fonda was an easy target for conservatives, she also proved very popular among much of the conscript army of the Vietnam era.

I was at the old Civic Auditorium in Honolulu on November 25, 1971, when a capacity crowd of about 5,000 people, mostly young military personnel, jammed the building to cheer Fonda’s touring FTA show (no, not Federal Transit Adminstration, in this case it stood for “F___ the Army”).

The show, featuring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Rita Martinson, Country Joe McDonald, Len Chandler Jr., and more had already played outside of Fort Bragg, Fort Ord, Fort Lewis, and other bases in the U.S. and was headed to Okinawa, South Korea, The Philippines, and Japan.

The poster for the show read:

“The G.I. movement exists on nearly every United States military installation around the world. It is made up of American servicemen and women who have come to realize that if there is to be an end to the U.S. military involvement in South East Asia — and end to the war — it is they who must end it.

“In response to the invitation of servicemen and women within the G.I. movement we have formed the F.T.A. Show in order to support their fight to end discrimination against people because of race, sex, class, religion, and personal or political belief.”

29 responses so far ↓

I remember viewing the video. They may have been naive, but sincere, and the message holds true today. The US military has no business being used for corporation profit while occupying other countries without cause…resulting in needless death and destruction.

For some reason everyone ignores the fact that Boersema was/is on the board of Unity House and has been since it was 41 to 13 million dollar (books hard to figure) non-profit with helpful programs for union members , to very recently if not still as it goes into bankruptcy.

I for one give him at least a nod in the right direction for admitting he sent it right away and recognizing he shouldn’t have sent it. He could have done a Weiner…..

Further, I think he should be given some slack on the sudden transition to the government hot seat where everything you do and everything you say will be scrutinized. His boss has made some gaffes as well early in the game. We shouldn’t make it out to be more than it is….a mistake.

This is one of my pet peeves, i.e. people forwarding these types of emails far and wide without even the simplest fact or sanity check. This email has been around for a decade because otherwise intelligent people uncritically forward it, so around and around it goes. I have recently thoroughly reamed out a couple of friends (maybe now former friends) for forwarding similar garbage. You would hope that sooner or later folks would learn.

doesn’t this only matter if he used his new .gov state email address? the post is inconclusive on this point.

if it was a personal email, do we really care? are we supposed to thought police everyone, regardless of how silly we think some things might be?

If this was his work email, well, it would seem like they have a problem then, as he should not be getting anything “unofficial” at said address. and if he’s using it that way, he’d better stop. and that is a reflection of the NA admin, their adherence to general policies, and self policing.

If we are talking about Governor Neil Abercrombie’s newly appointed communications director, well, duh, yes, we care, even if he uses his mother’s email address and admits it. again. duh.
if a high-ranking government figure was charged with assault, but it happened at home, should voters not care? right.
give us a break, george. sheesh.

Yes we do care. Even if it is his personal email account and there is no misuse of government assets, it shows poor judgement and lack of attention. Forwarding something to your friends which you have not read is spam, pure and simple. Do we want someone like that in a responsible governmental position?

Let’s see if I understand Boersma’s excuse: “I saw it was a rightwing screed about traitors who opposed the war against Vietnam, so I passed it on to other rightwing-military types who are still bitter about losing that war. ” Is that about right, or am I misreading his “logic”?

The guy donated $500 bucks to Charles Djou’s campaign. He seems like a reactionary shite.

Not to get too “Atomic Monkey” here, but what’s Neil been smoking that he continues to surround himself with rightwingers? I get the “Nixon to China” gimmick, but it only works if it is the exception to the rule and not the rule. And, it is supposed to produce good unexpected breakthroughs.

And finally, this guy is supposed to help Neil avoid clumsy mis-communications which might lead to PR disasters? “Physician, Heal Thyself.”

Mufi would have been a better guv and all of you know it by now. Buyers remorse. He was skewered for being a “bully” and “not listening”…..sound familiar? I don’t think as Mayor he ever experienced the mass exodus of staff. In fact, the new regime kept most of his hires.

Only rightwingers would forward these ridiculous, unsourced and false emails. Beyond dumb…Boersema shows us he’s the one not qualified for the job. Lame excuse…I’m waiting for his resignation, Neil. He needs to spend more time with his family. I prefer the smart kids on the block who are real Democrats!

Even after all of this and Neil’s bad moves, many of us would rather have Neil over Mufi any day? why? one reason: mufi wasn’t just any”bully”.
he had a “Compare and Decide” mailer that went after Neil Abercrombie’s mainland birth, haole wife, UH education and congresstional record.
even Dan Inouye slapped Mufi over that one.
Neil’s mistakes are sad, but buyers remorse in favor of mufi? not.

“The flyer is history. Give it up.” so ….. an incident in 2010 is history by 2011? in politics and the news? lol back.
btw, i’ve noticed that if you don’t like facts, you tend to dodge and weave and lol in response. keep it up. i can’t wait for your reply to this!

You nailed it Anon. Neil has made a mess of his first year on office with multiple mistakes….that is a mistake with an S. Plural. It’s one of those facts that you like to yak about. Mufi’s time in office was relatively scandal free (I don’t remember 4 of his top aides resigning in one week for instance). He made a mistake with the flyer….that’s ONE. If anyone is “keeping it up” it would be you my friend. If you respond next time please use your brain and not with your only weapon….sarcasm. How did I do?

“I didn’t even read it,” Boersema said. “I was in the Army for 37 years. I saw it was about Vietnam, and I just forwarded it to some friends.”

And he’s in what profession?

Each time I get an email like that, I check with Snopes. Nearly every single one is pure BS. And if it’s a mass group, I reply back to all and let them know it’s just crap, along with links to substantiate it.

Whether they actually pay attention is doubtful. Because it keeps happening.

How someone can mindlessly forward this sort of drivel is beyond comprehension. It’s a clear demonstration of a total lack of critical thinking.

Right on! This is not the kind of ‘mistake’ that a Communications Director is suppose to make. This is treason for any average person on the Administration’s Staff but the Director of Communications. Let’s get real…..Too sad for words.